In recent years, various light emitting devices incorporating a light emitting element such as a laser diode (LD) element have been used in lighting devices and the like. Such a light emitting device can include a wavelength conversion member which can include, for example, a yellow phosphor and be placed over an LD element that emits blue light, thereby providing white light. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-062459 (or U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0045634A1 corresponding thereto, hereinafter, referred to as Patent Literature 1) discloses a ceramics composite including a transparent ceramic matrix composed of Al2O3 and a phosphor composed of YAG (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) containing Ce (cerium).
When light emitted from a light emitting element is converted in wavelength using the ceramics composite disclosed in Patent Literature 1, so-called return light that is generated by reflecting the light off the surface of the phosphor back to the light emitting element, thereby deteriorating the light extraction efficiency of the light emitting device.